Our Story
Fashion born from purpose.
Born from a love of fabric and feeling.
The Beginning
DesignerFriday was founded in London by Bhavna Rishi, who believed that the way clothes are made matters as much as how they look. So she combined her love of woman-centred fashion, thoughtful design, flattering silhouettes, and a deep respect for craft and community and styling and brought it to London. Each collection starts with the end of use of the garment and a flattering shape with a woman in mind, moving through her life, wanting to feel beautiful without compromise.
That woman is you. And these clothes are especially designed for you.
“We were not just designing clothes. We were designing a way of feeling in them.”
Crafted with respect for people and planet. Using GOTS-certified organic cotton, leftover cotton, and recycled materials.
Flattering shapes that empower women of all ages. Designed to celebrate diverse sizes and styles.
From artisan communities to wardrobes worldwide. Every piece carries a story of community, craft, and confidence.
Founder's Story
"I didn't set out to build a fashion brand. I set out to find something I could wear at the school gate, at my desk and to bed, without changing who I was."
For most of my life, I had a wardrobe full of clothes that didn't quite work. Beautiful things I couldn't move in. A drawer full of synthetic fabrics that looked lovely on a hanger and felt wrong the moment I put them on. And a growing pile of pieces I'd worn twice, felt nothing wearing, and quietly guilt-tripped every time I opened the door. I knew exactly what I wanted, and it simply didn't exist.
A shape that could take me from the sofa to the school gate. From a slow morning at home to a meeting, a lunch, a walk along the beach. Something beautiful enough to feel like a choice, not a compromise. And something made with materials that felt as good against my skin as they looked. So I started making it myself. Twenty years working with fashion factories gave me the knowledge. But it also showed me everything that was broken about the way clothes are made, the synthetic shortcuts, the wasted fabric, the workers treated as an afterthought, and the mountains of end-of-line material discarded without a second thought. I couldn't build another version of that.
DesignerFriday was designed from the beginning to be different. To create a 360° ecosystem where people, planet and process all point in the same direction. Where end-of-line and deadstock fabrics become the starting point, not the leftovers. Where the women making your clothes are not just skilled, they are valued, supported and growing.
Our makers are women who came to this country carrying little more than a love of sewing. Asylum seekers. Mothers. Caregivers. Women who find in stitching something that so many of us search for: a quiet confidence. A sense of purpose. A way to support their families with dignity. We learn from each other. We upskill together. And every piece you wear carries a little of what they've put into it.
The DesignerFriday woman is a woman like me. She's doing it all, raising children, building something, holding everything together. She wants to feel good without having to think too hard about it. She wants clothes that radiate the confidence she sometimes has to dig for. And she deserves to get dressed in something that is both beautiful and good. That's what we're building.
Fashion with purpose. A brand that holds you, so you can hold everything else. Sleep in it. Step out in it. Rise, move and radiate.
The Craft — Block Printing
We combined the love of fashion with one of the world’s oldest textile print traditions and brought it to London. Our wooden block designs have existed in the Rajasthani communities for decades. Our fabrics are sourced for feel, not just appearance.
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The Design
Every pattern starts as a drawing. Our London team sketches each style by hand.
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The Block
The pattern is created from wooden blocks by skilled artisans. Each block is a tool, a signature, a piece of craft in itself. No two prints are ever exactly alike.
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The Print
Non-toxic, skin-safe dyes are pressed into breathable cotton, one block at a time.
Every person in our supply chain is paid fairly and works in safe conditions. Our artisans are not a footnote. They are the story. We name them. We celebrate them. We return to them, season after season.
PEOPLE FIRST
Biodegradable packaging. Non-toxic dyes. Organic cotton. We measure every decision against its impact on the earth. Because a garment that harms the world it inhabits is not beautiful, no matter how it looks.
PLANET ALWAYS
Our A-line shapes are not an accident. They are the result of years of listening. To real women. Real bodies. Real lives. We design for confidence, not for a sample size. No rules. Just the way you want to feel.
FLATTERING BY DESIGN
We are not interested in fast fashion. We make pieces you will reach for again and again. That wash well, wear well, and look better with time. Investment dressing. Without the designer price tag.
DESIGNED TO LAST
YOUR GOLDEN-HOUR MOMENTS